Oriented layered assemblies of graphene nanosheets/Fe3O4 nanoparticles as a superior anode material for lithium ion batteries

The development of more effective electrodes for lithium ion batteries requires increasing the specific surface area and improving the reversible capacity of the materials. We prepared a hybrid multilayer film consisting of graphene oxide (GO) nanosheets and iron oxide (Fe3O4) nanoparticles assembled using the Langmuir-Schaefer (LS) technique. The GO-Fe3O4 hybrid monolayer is formed by ligand exchange between GO suspended in the subphase and oleic acid-coated Fe3O4 nanoparticles dispersed at the liquid-gas interface. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and grazing incidence small angle X-ray scattering (GISAXS) results indicate that the GO-Fe3O4 composite monolayer at the interface possesses closely packed hexagonal structure of the Fe3O4 nanoparticles with high coverage upon monolayer compression. The multilayer GO-Fe3O4 hybrid materials were prepared by repeated LS deposition, exhibiting high reversible capacity (similar to 600 mAh g(-1)) and superior cycle stability over 1000 cycles.